The present invention relates to vibratory conveyor apparatus, and more particularly to a vibratory drive system for a vibratory conveyor apparatus utilizing a pair of rotating eccentric crank devices to impart a displacement to the conveyor apparatus and a conveyor apparatus having the drive system.
Eccentric crank drive systems for providing linear force generation to vibratory conveyor apparatus are known per se. These known eccentric crank drive systems typically utilize a single rotating eccentric crank mounted to, for example, the conveyor frame and connected to a conveying trough of the conveyor apparatus to impart a predetermined displacement to the conveying trough. The eccentric crank imposes a fixed peak-to-peak displacement through an elastomer connection to the conveying trough, thereby, exciting or transferring a vibratory motion to the conveyor trough. The peak-to-peak displacement provided by these known eccentric crank drive systems is fixed, that is they cannot be varied, without removing the eccentric crank drive and replacing it with another eccentric crank drive of a different stroke.
These known eccentric crank drive systems do not provide for selectively changing the effective crank eccentric stroke of the eccentric crank drive system and, therefore, varying the stroke of the vibration motion of the conveying trough of the conveying apparatus to suit different conveying conditions.